Infiltration
by Driver3196
Summary: Ozpin attempts to keep everyone focused on the Vytal Festival amid numerous strange occurrences at Beacon, between rumors of doppelgangers, people acting out of sort, and the mysterious Man At Arms. But keeping secrets comes at a price, and the infiltrators want a payment in blood. The only issue is that they don't care whose is used to pay. Takes place during Volume 3.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Weren't you just. . .?**

Ozpin stared out the window of his office, his gaze fixed on the hovering arena in the distance. "Does anyone else know about this?" he asked.

"No," General Ironwood responded. "There are rumors, of course. This was reported by a student. But nothing has been publicly confirmed yet."

"Good. How long do you think it will take to get whatever this thing is out of my school?"

"I believe we should have this thing in custody within a week."

"And I believe you're full of shit," Qrow said from the corner before taking a long swig from his flask. "According to Ruby, these rumors have been going around for close to a month. If a school full of hunters couldn't find it in that time, I doubt you'll have any results working within your timeframe and you know it."

"You underestimate me, Qrow. I would like to remind you that I have the full military might of Atlas at my disposal."

"So what are you going to do, have the army search the entire school up and down continuously to find something that can change its shape?"

"I-"

"That won't be necessary," Ozpin interjected. "Ironwood, you have skilled students here for the tournament. I would like for a few of them to search the school alongside a few of my own. Preferably, students that aren't competing."

"I'm assuming you already have your picks in mind," Qrow remarked.

"Indeed I do."

"Then if you don't mind me asking."

"Blake Belladonna and Jaune Arc."

"Very well," Ironwood mused. "And what about the Man At Arms?"

* * *

"I'm late," Ruby muttered repeatedly under her breath as she ran through the fairgrounds. She was so focused on trying to catch up that she didn't notice the person turning the corner until she collided with them, sending a tub of popcorn flying and knocking both of them to the ground. "Sorry," she sputtered out as she stood up.

"No worries," Pyrra said as she got up.

"Hey, weren't you going to watch Yang and Wiess?"

"Uh, yeah. I was just getting more food."

"Now you sound like Yang."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I'll let you decide. See you in the stands!" Ruby skipped away, excited to see her sister fight.

…**..**

"You're just in time," Blake remarked as Ruby took a seat, struggling to catch her breath.

"I ran the entire way here, including a short bit with my semblance," the young girl replied.

"Then maybe you should have gotten up here sooner instead of trying to win that giant stuffed panda," Pyrra said with a small laugh.

"How did you get up here so fast?"

"What do you mean? I've been in this exact spot for the past twenty minutes."

"How? I ran into you, literally, on the way up. It's going to take a while to get all the popcorn out of the various folds of my clothes."

"Well, you have fun with that. Are you sure it was me?"

"Yeah. We talked for a bit. You said you were getting more food."

"No, that's what we sent Jaune to do, which I realize now was probably a mistake. You weren't the only one eyeing that panda," she chuckled.

"Then who did I talk to?"

"We can figure that out later," Blake said. "Right now, let's watch our friends kick butt." The horns blared, signifying the start of the match as the crowd roared, Nora's voice carrying over the rest.

"GO TEAM RWBY! BEAT THEIR FACES IN!"

* * *

Daniel Mercia gazed out at the fight from the very top of the arena, thankful that the building's shields let him walk out over the open air. As soon as Weiss Schnee was out, he knew how this fight would end and decided to turn his attention to the crowd instead. "Next time, can you survey the crowd, I don't know, uh, within the crowd as opposed to above them?" a voice rang in his ear. "The wind up there is sending constant feedback through the comm link and the ringing is driving me nuts."

"Sorry, Layla, but it's easier to see everyone from up here."

"If you insist. Find anything." He flipped down the visor of his helmet, activating a scanner.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I think there's a feedback loop on this frequency. Nothing means nothing. The only thing of note is a random synth, but nothing else. And certainly no shifters."

"You should probably check the fairgrounds."

"And what are you doing to help?"

"I'm reviewing school security footage to see if there's any sign of a shifter."

"That's. . . not a terrible idea."

"Why thank you."

"I can _hear_ the smug smile."

"You betcha."

"I'll leave you to bask in your pride. Mercia out." Daniel shut off the comm link and shot a wire into the edge of the arena, giving it a quick, sharp tug to test its strength before leaping off the side. When he had used up all the slack in his descent, he let the wire carry him in an arc until he was over the airship dock, letting go and landing on his feet in one fluid motion. "Sometimes even I wonder if I'm an undiscovered faunus with my catlike agility and grace," he remarked to himself. "Alas, regular human ears." He shrugged as he climbed into the cockpit of a small jet, letting it drop before taking off and making his way to the fairgrounds.

* * *

**How's it, Driver3196 here with my first attempt at a RWBY story. Not much to say other than that you shouldn't expect regular updates(but I will update) and that not everyone will make it out alive. Welp, enjoy, reveiw, and have fun. Driver out.**

**P.s. I just started watching and am only starting Volume 5, so please try and keep spoilers to a minimum.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Powder Keg**

Yang wasn't too surprised with the fanfare as she attempted to make her way to the fairgrounds. She had just won a very close fight, after all. She was more annoyed than anything, mostly about the lack of personal space. She attempted to push her way through the crowd when she spotted a familiar face. "Ruby!" she called out. "Familiar person! Coming through. Out of my way, damnit!" She managed to push past the throng of cheering people to catch up with her sister, only for the young girl to walk off. "Hey, where are you going?" But Ruby didn't stop. "Uh, fine? Good talk. Catch up later? Okay," she chuckled to herself. "Not at all weird."

"Yang!" she heard another voice call her name, barely getting a chance to react before Nora slammed into her. "You. Were. AMAZING!"

"She's not wrong," Pyrrha agreed. "I assume Weiss stayed behind to rest, given the hit she took closer to the end."

"Well thanks. And yes, Weiss is resting and trying to get in touch with her dry cleaner. Though, is it any surprise that I, that _we_, kicked ass?" the blonde beamed before her smile fell. "Ruby, how'd you get back here so fast? I mean, I know that's your semblance, but not a rose petal in sight."

"What do you mean?" the young girl looked confused. "I've been with them the entire time," she gestured to her friends.

"I can vouch for that," Blake added.

"Me too," Nora chimed in. "Even won me a giant stuffed panda!"

"You know we don't have space for that," Pyrrha deadpanned.

"Says who? We just remove one of the beds. Jaune doesn't use his, right?"

"Oh good grief. Also, Blake, why back Ruby and not me earlier?" Pyrrha asked with a teasing nudge.

"Uh," the bow on her head shifted a bit. "I wasn't entirely aware you were there."

"How?"

"I was. . . uh. . . napping." The girl in question received looks of amazement and confusion. "What, the sun was hitting my seat just right, it was nice and warm, and I'd just had a large lunch."

"Remind me to get her a novelty size cardboard box," Nora half whispered.

"Been there, done that," Yang replied with a snicker.

"We will never speak of this again," Blake said, a definite edge in her voice.

"Kitty's got claws," Nora joked before receiving an intense glare from Blake. "Okay, yeah, lips sealed. Wh, why would I _ever_ think of bringing _that_ up again, amiright?!" she quickly said with a nervous giggle. "Huh? Guys?" Her shoulders slumped as everyone began walking off. "Guys? Guys! You're still going to help me carry that giant bear, right? Hello? Helloooo? I get no respect around here."

* * *

On the other side of the fairgrounds, Jaune was attempting to find the rest of his friends. He had been separated when waiting in line for popcorn and could tell that he had missed the fight because of it. His mood wasn't improved when he almost collided with Professor Ozpin, losing a few of the fluffy white kernels in the process. "Sorry about that, Professor," he said shyly. "I wasn't looking where I was going and am a little frustrated because I missed Weiss and Yang because _SOMEONE_ took twenty minutes ordering their food and got way too many hot dogs and it's been a day."

"It would seem so," Ozpin said cooly. "Though, I doubt what I'm about to ask of you will do anything to improve it." Jaune hung his head and groaned.

"What now? A giant grimm near the fairgrounds? Has Roman Torchwick escaped?! Do I have detention?! Please, I don't deserve detention! The pancakes were Nora's idea, I swear!"

"While I fear it may be a little late for poor Professor Port, meaning I'll have to talk to Ms. Valkyrie later, none of those are why I'm here. I'm certain you've heard rumors of the possibility of a shapeshifter within Beacon, yes?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Good. I need your help finding it. General Ironwood has asked his student Penny Polendina to help, and Ms. Belladonna will be joining you as well."

"W-w-what? You want me, _me_, of all people to find a shapeshifter?! I can barely find my socks in the morning."

"Jaune, I believe you are more than capable for this little assignment, given how you have handled yourself in far worse situations. And unlike your search for socks, you'll have help. Besides, anyone who can create forgery papers convincing enough to get past Goodwitch certainly has talent."

"Wait, you know about that?"

"My boy, there's not much that goes on in this school that I _don't_ know about. But this is a conversation for another time. Ms. Polendina and Ms. Belladonna have already been informed of their assignment. I suggest you meet with them. You'll be reporting to Ironwood in the school courtyard immediately after the final match of the day. I wish you luck."

* * *

Soldiers stood in salute as Winter Schnee exited the airship, gracefully striding across the Beacon courtyard to the General. "Is it true?" she asked. "There's a creature in this school of unknown origin and threat?"

"It's nice to see you too, Winter," Ironwood responded with a hint of annoyance.

"Since when have you been one for such formalities?"

"Since always. It's nice to see you, Winter."

The woman sighed. "It's nice to see you as well I suppose."

"Very good. And to answer your question, we're not sure. Ozpin wants to put children in charge of this, as usual. I do believe Penny is more than capable of finding this thing. Right now, I'm more interested in the rumors about the Man At Arms."

"I don't believe I've heard of him, sir."

"As I would expect. Very few people outside of Oz's inner circle know about him, and even fewer care. Ozpin and Goodwitch are more concerned with the shapeshifter, Qrow's too drunk to care, and of the four or so students that actually saw him, only one believes what they saw was real."

"So where does that leave us?"

"Interrogating Velvet Scarlatina, I'm afraid."

"Why do I sense an issue with this?"

"Whatever she witnessed when she encountered the Man At Arms left her traumatized. She has become mute and barely leaves her room for anything outside of meals. The rest of her team can barely get anything out of her, much less two strangers."

"We do have. . . harsher. . . methods of interrogation."

"Winter-"

"They're proven, sir. If whatever Ms. Scarlatina saw was that horrific, then it stands to reason that we need to find this Man At Arms before he strikes again."

"NO! I am aware of the potential weight of the situation, but between Ozpin already breathing down my neck, Jaques Schnee doing everything he can to drive me off the council, and the good will surrounding the Vytal Festival, I can't afford to take risks. And what you're suggesting would be just the thing anyone would need to get me out of here, putting god knows who in charge and potentially more people DYING because the new General doesn't know how to handle themselves with this man."

"I apologize, sir. I was unaware you had gone soft."

"Winter, there is a difference between being soft, and being cautious. I would hope you realize that."

"It just seems that we need all the information we can get."

"Which I'm trying to get without setting off the powder keg that Atlas has become."

"Then perhaps I could be of some assistance," a new voice said from the doorway.

* * *

**Before anyone says anything, characters will be OOC, past events will happen differently, and some semblances will be different. Trust me, it will make sense later and is fully intentional. Other than that, I don't have much else. Until next time, Driver out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: More Of A Mystery**

"Who are you?" Winter demanded, pulling her sword from its sheath and pointing it at the newcomer. Her gaze landed on a young faunus girl with blonde hair, rabbit ears, and bright green eyes. She wore simple green flats, a form-fitting black dress, and a green cardigan. Winter also noted the two boomerangs strapped to her back.

"My name is Layla Aster," the girl responded. "I know a thing or two about the Man At Arms."

"Anything will help," Ironwood assured. Layla nodded, skipping down the steps until she was standing between the two Atlesian soldiers. Both furrowed their brows when she grabbed their hands.

"You'll understand soon. They don't call my semblance Burrow for nothing," she said cheerfully. Stamping her foot on the ground, a large hole opened up beneath them and all three fell through, followed by three screams, two of terror, one of excitement. The group continued picking up speed until a light shone beneath them and they were deposited next to a cliff face overlooking Vale. Layla gave a sympathetic smile in response to the looks of shock that were frozen on the other two's faces. "It's not as bad as when I use it normally."

"And what is "normally" like for you?" Winter inquired, slowly fixing her windswept hair.

"I can only travel to places I've been, can see, or can picture clearly in my mind. Made for an interesting Friday night when watching a police thriller filmed in Atlas. The further away, the longer it takes and the more it drains my aura. Given that this was less than a mile, I should be fine in an hour. Well, two. I need to get back to Beacon. Test tomorrow, and Professor Port doesn't hold back." She stamped her foot again, dropping into the ground with a cheer, the hole immediately closing up behind her.

"Less than a mile from Beacon and there's still no signal," Winter groaned.

"I guess we find what we can and then walk back." Ironwood looked up at the cliff face. Sloppily inscribed on it was the word _BREACH_.

"There's a note here, General. It's addressed to you."

"What does it say?"

"_James,_

_Back off. Tell Ozpin to do the same. None of you are prepared for what you're dealing with. This is far worse than Salem. I will approach you when the time is right._

_~Man At Arms_"

"We have to tell Ozpin."

"Sir, who's Salem?"

* * *

"Jaune, please stop," Blake sighed.

"Sorry, I pace when I get nervous."

"Hey, maybe this will be fun!" Penny cheered.

"I doubt it," Blake responded. "Searching the entire school on our own after dark to find something that can look like anything and may or may not even exist. And Ozpin's unusually late."

"That is odd." The android perked up. "Oh! Maybe he's playing the game: Hide And Seek!" Blake giggled.

"As amusing a thought as that is, I highly doubt it."

"Do you think he forgot?" Jaune asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid you will have no such luck, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said behind Jaune, prompting the blonde to shriek and jump into Blake's arms in a fashion akin to Scooby Doo. "I apologize for keeping you all. General Ironwood approached me with some, erm, unfortunate news that took priority."

"What-"

"You needn't concern yourself with it, Mr. Arc. All I need from you three is to search the school. Do not worry, I'll keep it limited. You three will only have to search the entrance hall and faculty offices tonight."

"That is approximately five thousand three hundred and eighty four square meters," Penny noted. "It should only take four hours to complete a thorough search between the three of us."

"Great," Blake groaned, raising her arms and causing Jaune to drop to the ground. "Who needs sleep anyway."

"Humans are recommended to get about eight hours of sleep each night. Faunus' recommended sleep pattern varies based on the animal they share a genome with, such as a rabbit needing about five hours of sleep while a cat needs closer to ten."

"It was rhetorical, Penny."

"Oh. In that case, I will not respond." Blake rolled her eyes before seeing that Penny had pulled out a magnifying glass.

"Why do you have that?"

"Sun gave it to me. He said it would make me "detective ready" and almost on his level."

"Of course he did. Any idea what we should start looking for?"

"How about weird blue stains?" Jaune called out.

"And why's that?"

"Because I just found one that _definitely_ wasn't there before and definitely doesn't belong either." He shined his flashlight over the mark on the wall.

"It almost looks like a bloodstain."

"Affirmative," Penny said. "The stain contains DNA."

"Well that makes no sense."

"Which part," Jaune asked, "the fact that we found blood, the fact that it's blue, or the fact that we found something almost immediately?"

"Definitely the last one," Blake said with a smirk.

"Yeah, that doesn't bode well for us. This is the kind of thing you always see in horror movies before-"

"It's the blue blood, idiot. Blood in the lobby makes sense. Almost everyone carries some kind of blade with them. But even grimm bleed red, so why is this blue?"

"The DNA matches Yang Xiao Long," Penny informed.

"But I've seen Yang bleed."

"TMI! TMI!" Jaune shouted.

"Oh grow up. Besides, I was talking about things like splinters and papercuts, both of which are going to be the death of her. I'm shocked she hasn't taken one of her arms off just trying to get out of bed."

"But what color is her blood?" Penny asked.

"Red, just like anyone else's. It does turn gold when she activates her semblance. Never blue, though."

"Maybe it's the shapeshifter," Jaune suggested, a little on edge.

"Let's keep looking." Blake stormed off, making a bee-line for the next room.

"Geez, why's she so worked up?"

"According to Ruby, she had planned a "girl's night" with the rest of the team before Ozpin gave her this mandatory assignment, meaning that the other three are off watching Megapiranha II while she's stuck here," Penny said.

"Well, based on the reviews and what the first one was like, I'd say that she's probably having a better time."

"The Remnant Film Group rated Megapiranha II at a two point seven out of ten, a strict upgrade from the previous film's rating of two point four."

"Still doesn't make it good."

"Guys," Blake called, "there's more." When the pair entered the room Blake had gone into, Jaune gagged on the stench that had flooded the small space. And to make matters worse, more blue blood appeared to be smeared about the walls, coating furniture and just about everything else in the room.

"I cannot isolate any specific DNA from this," Penny frowned.

"We have to tell Ozpin."

"Sure," Jaune said quickly. "Anything to get out of this room."

"Go." He nodded, running to the nearest restroom. The sounds of vomiting quickly filled the hall as Blake and Penny made their way to the door. "I'm amazed he's lasted this long as a hunter."

"At least his heart is in the right place," Penny beamed.

* * *

Velvet rocked back and forth on her bed, her knees held up to her chest as she stared fearfully at the shadows in the corner of her room. "What do you want from me?!" she cried out.

"I only want to talk," a deep, distorted voice responded. The faunus' ears drooped as a man stepped forward, coated in dark metal armor and a black coat that billowed out into a cloak at the waist, with a hood and metal mask hiding his face and a heavy shotgun strapped to his back. "I need you to know that I am not the enemy."

"That thing you ripped apart. It looked like me!"

"I know. I've hunted their kind for nearly a decade, aiming for their master."

"They have a master?"

"Tell me, Ms. Scarlatina, do you know any fairy tales?"

"Of course. I loved them as a child."

"Then you know about a famous one: The Jackrabbit." Velvet nodded. "Well, much like the tale of the Four Maidens, The Jackrabbit holds some truth behind it."

* * *

**Yes, every chapter will end with suspense. You'll know something big is coming if one doesn't. Aside from that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for more. Until then, Driver out.**


End file.
